Together At Last
by Karania Avalon
Summary: Every girl dreams of being a princess. Though how easy is it when you're actually one? What if you were a part of a greater picture and didn't even know it?
1. The Chase

Together At Last Chapter 1 "The Chase" 

"I think she went that way!"  A voice rang out.  It was the voice of one of the bullies that always tormented her.

"Yes, I saw her go that way!"  Another voice said.

As if on cue, the girl started running faster.

"Yup, she went this way all right, let's get her!  Orphans like her don't deserve to live."  The first voice said.

The criminals were so busy chasing the girl that they didn't notice the pharaoh's procession.  The girl saw the procession and bowed her head slightly to show respect, before she had to keep running.  From where the pharaoh was sitting, he saw the kind of danger the girl was in, and wanted to do whatever he could to help her.  The criminals weren't paying attention to anything other than the girl so they just ran past the pharaoh and didn't show any sort of respect.  This made the pharaoh angry, and he sent half his guards after the criminals.  He told the guards to bring both the criminals and the girl to him, but to not hurt the girl since she hadn't done anything wrong.  The bullies chased the girl down a dark alley, and cornered her.

"Oh, great……  I'm done for now……"  The girl thought.

Just when the girl thought that her life was about to end, the pharaoh's guards appeared and pulled the criminals off her.  

"What?  What's going on!  Did I do something wrong?  Why are these guards here?"  Karania thought.

"Come, my dear, the pharaoh would like a word with you."  A guard said.

Then the guard took the girl back to the pharaoh.  The guard presented the girl to the pharaoh, and she curtsied making sure that she didn't look at the pharaoh since that was forbidden unless the pharaoh told you to look at him.  

"What does the pharaoh want with me?  I hope I'm not in trouble…."  The girl thought, while being a little afraid of the pharaoh.

The pharaoh sized the girl up before he said, "Look at me."

The girl looked up at the pharaoh, and when she did so the pharaoh gasped since she was so pretty.  The girl had a slender build, blue eyes, and glistening reddish brown hair; that looked almost like gold when the sun hit it.

Now the pharaoh asked, "What's your name child?"

"I'm Karania, your majesty."

The pharaoh smiled, "Come here, Karania."

Karania walked over to the pharaoh, and he helped her up, and set her at his feet.

While the pharaoh was waiting for his other guards to return with the criminals he looked at Karania and asked, "Karania, where are your family?"

"My family abandoned me……  The last I heard my father and brothers went to become tomb robbers……"

"You poor thing……  No wonder you have so much trouble trying to stay alive……"  The pharaoh's gaze fell on Karania again and he noticed how skinny she was.  "It appears that you haven't had enough to eat, child."

"I would have eaten more, but I couldn't afford to……"  Karania replied.

"You refused to steal, even though you were hungry?"  The pharaoh asked her.

"Yes, your majesty."  Karania replied.

"Well, I can't let a little thing like you starve to death.  I insist that you let me take you under my wing.  You'll be my daughter, and a princess of Lower Egypt."

"As you wish, your majesty."  Karania replied.

The pharaoh smiled, "Then from this moment forward, I name you Princess Karania."

Just then, the rest of the guards appeared dragging the criminals.  Karania trembled in fear of them, so the pharaoh put his hand on Karania's shoulder to comfort her before he began addressing the criminals.

"How dare you try to harm such an innocent child!  What did she ever do to you?"

"She didn't do anything to us, it's more the fact that she exists."  One of the criminals replied.

"Oh, really?  Well, she's out of your range now.  She'll now be heavily guarded since she's now a princess."

"What!?"  The second criminal exclaimed.

"You heard me.  She's now my daughter and the princess of Lower Egypt.  She will be trained as a princess and taught everything she needs to know to be one.  However, your fate rests with me and not her at this moment."

"Uh-oh……."  The criminals said together.

"You got that right, and I choose exile!  Now get out of my sight and never come back to Egypt!" 

The guards released the criminals, and they ran off and out of Egypt.


	2. Preparations For A Princess

Chapter 2 

"Preparations For A Princess"

Once the criminals were gone, the pharaoh and his procession proceeded to the palace.  When they arrived at the palace, some slaves hurried over to help the new princess down.  

They looked at her wondering what was so special about her when the pharaoh broke into their train of thought, "This is Karania she's my daughter and the new princess.  You will do as she tells you if she asks you.  Is that clear?"

The slaves nodded.  Now they helped the pharaoh down, then everyone walked into the palace.  As they were walking the pharaoh took his daughter's hand, and began making preparations to get her a dress that was more princess-worthy.  When they entered, Advisor Ishizu hurried over.

"Oh, your majesty, you're back.  Who's this girl?"  Ishizu asked.

"This girl I found in the town, she didn't have any family to care for her so I took her under my wing."  The pharaoh replied.

"I see, so she's the new princess, is that correct?"  Ishizu asked.

"Yes, she is.  She looked like princess material so like I said I took her under my wing."  The pharaoh stated proudly.

Just then the High Priest entered, and once he entered he eyed the girl with distrust.  "Who's she?"  He asked at last.

"As I was telling, Ishizu this is Karania, she's the new princess.  I found her in town, and she didn't look like any of the other commoners so I took her under my wing and made her a princess."  The pharaoh replied.

"You have excellent taste in selecting a daughter and a princess for your kingdom."  The High Priest stated with respect.

"That's quite enough, Seto!  You have duties to attend to, so you should be getting back to them.  Go on."

Priest Seto eyed the girl once more before he left the room to return to his duties as a High Priest.  

Then once he had left, the pharaoh turned to Ishizu and said, "Ishizu, I need to go back to the throne room, but could you do me a favor and take Karania to the healers so that they can see about whether she's in good health or not.  I don't want to lose her now that I've found her.  Then could you take her to a nice room, and get her a dress that is more suited for a princess?"

"I will do that for you, your majesty."  Ishizu said.

"Then once you've done all those things, and she's changed into her new dress, I would like for you to bring her to the throne room so that I can see what my daughter looks like when she's wearing her princess attire."  The pharaoh added.

"I will do that too, your majesty."  Ishizu said.

"Good.  Now I really must go to the throne room."  The pharaoh said.

The pharaoh started to walk towards the throne room then he circled back and embraced his daughter, and after that he continued on to the throne room.  Once the pharaoh had left, Ishizu took Karania's hand and led her down another hallway and up to the healers.  

The healers looked up when Ishizu and Karania entered and Ishizu broke the silence and said, "The pharaoh wishes for you to check his new daughter, Karania to make sure that she's in good health."

"New daughter?"  The healers asked.

"Yes, the pharaoh found a little girl when he went out into the town earlier today and he adopted her and made her a princess.  Does that answer your question?"  Ishizu asked.

"Yes, it does, Advisor Ishizu.  We will be more than happy to look at the new princess and determine what her health status is."  The healers said.

Now one of the healers walked over to Karania and took her hand and led her over to a chair and asked for her to sit down.  Karania sat down and the healers began trying to determine what her current state of health was.  After checking her over for a few minutes, they found that she was in good health, but was a little weak from not eating as much as she should have been.  So the healers gave her a magic potion that would cure her of that state.  Karania drank the potion, and was a little surprised when she felt her strength coming back to her, but she was happy and didn't say anything about it except a simple 'thank you' to the healers, which they acknowledged with a nod in her direction.

Then the healers turned back to Ishizu and said, "She's all better now, it'll be like she never was a little weak from being malnourished."

"Good, I'm sure the pharaoh would be happy."  Ishizu replied.

"I hope he is."  The healers replied.

Now Ishizu said, "It's time for us to go now as I still need to get her a dress before I present her to her father."

"You do that."  The healers said as they turned back to what they had been doing before Karania and Ishizu had entered.

Karania and Ishizu left the room and Ishizu took Karania to her room; then she left Karania in her room while she went to get a dress for her.  A few minutes later Ishizu returned with a dress for her that was indeed a dress for a princess.  Ishizu entered Karania's room and gave the dress to her; then she began helping Karania change into it.  A few minutes later Karania had changed into her new dress.  The dress she was wearing was a light blue and was made entirely out of satin with only the exception of the sleeves and collar, which were made out of blue chiffon.  Then around her waist she wore a length of white and silver braided cord, and on her feet she wore white dress shoes.  Karania looked simply lovely, she truly looked like a princess in this dress.  She looked so much like a princess that Ishizu gasped in utter amazement.  Ishizu now braided her hair in the style of a princess, and then she stood back to admire her. Karania looked at herself in the mirror, and her hand went to her throat since she wasn't used to an outfit that exposed her throat so openly.  

Ishizu now took her hand and said, "Come, your highness, your father is waiting for you."

Karania and Ishizu walked to the throne room, and once at the doors to the throne room Ishizu stopped Karania and said, "Please wait here, your highness so that I can find out whether your father is busy or not at the moment."

Ishizu entered the throne room and saw at once that the pharaoh wasn't busy; he was just sitting on his throne waiting for something to happen.  He looked up when Ishizu entered, and asked, "Where's my daughter?"

"She's outside the door, I asked her to wait for a minute so that I could make sure that you were ready to see her."  Ishizu replied.

"Good, please go get her, I can't wait to see her."  The pharaoh said.

Ishizu now hurried out of the room and returned a moment later with the princess.  The pharaoh's eyes widened in amazement when he saw his daughter, and he bade her come over to him.  Karania walked over to her father, and he reached into a chest and pulled out a crystal necklace that dangled in 5 different places along with a set of crystal earrings that matched the necklace.  Ishizu walked over and helped her put on the necklace and earrings.

Then her father said, "Much better, you look like a true princess.  From the way you look no one would guess that you're not my real daughter.  I'm glad I found you, you're a delight to have around, and don't worry you'll be taught how to be a princess.  Your princess lessons will begin tomorrow, I've already arranged to have someone teach you.  Oh, and by the way as a princess you gained the right to speak freely in my presence so you should take advantage of that, daughter.  It would delight me if you would call me your 'father' since I did adopt you when I took you under my wing, and don't worry about your real father and brothers they never were around for you so you can hardly call them family."

"That's true, they never were around for me.  They seemed to abandon me to take care of myself while they went to go do who knows what."  Karania replied.

"Too true, and guess what?  You're catching on as to what a princess does already!  As I've told you your lessons are to start tomorrow, and although you might be frustrated at first your lessons will get easier as you learn the basics of how to be a princess, but you'll find out more about that tomorrow."  Her father said.

"Yes, father."  Karania replied.

The pharaoh smiled and got up off his throne and embraced his daughter for the second time that day.

"Oh, I love it when you call me that!  You're going to fit in perfectly.  Now daughter, please come sit beside me, and I'll explain the basic rules and customs that you'll have to abide by as a princess."  The pharaoh said.

Ishizu helped Karania over to the velvet chair next to her father and Karania sat down in it, then Ishizu walked over to the other side of the pharaoh so that she could be ready to advise him as that was her job that she was responsible for.  The pharaoh began to explain the rules and customs of the palace and Karania listened intently, not knowing that however simple the rules and customs sounded that they were actually more difficult to follow and abide by than it ever seemed possible, but she would find out that over a period of time.


	3. Lessons and Etiquette

Chapter 3 

"Dad, do you think Karania's okay?"  Karania's younger brother asked.

"I'm sure she can take care of herself."  Their father replied, while sharpening his knife.

"Yeah, but father, Karania never took care of getting food to eat……  What if something happened to her, or she fell sick?"  Karania's older brother said looking at his sandwich disgusted.

"I don't know……  She might not be alive anymore……  Maybe we should've taken her with us, however I didn't think that she'd want to be a tomb robber.  She probably would've ratted us out to the pharaoh, anyways."  Their father replied.

"But father!  What if she somehow rose to power!?  I don't think she'll think of us as family if that happened."  One of her brother's stated, dropping his kerchief from his hand.

"What?  Like the pharaoh would adopt her?  That's crazy, he wouldn't do 

that, or would he……  Maybe you're right, Karania didn't look like the other commoners so maybe he found her and adopted her.  If that happened she's still alive, and could prove to be our enemy, for as you said she might not think of us as family."  Their dad replied starting to sound worried.

"I guess we could go into town and try to find her."  Her older brother said.

"Let's try that."  Their father said.

Karania's father and brother's finished their lunch, and packed up their supplies before they headed from the village outside Egypt and into Egypt.

They searched for Karania for the rest of the day; they even searched what used to be their house.

"Hey!  I found her veil!  She must've been here not long ago…..  Why don't we ask one of the villagers if they've seen her."  Karania's older brother said.

Karania's younger brother walked outside and found a fruit vendor that was close to their house so he walked over to see if he had seen her anytime soon.

"Excuse me, have you seen a young lady named Karania?"  Her younger brother asked the vendor.

"I haven't seen her lately, she usually buys fruit from me, but I haven't seen her lately.  I heard that there was some criminals that had been tormenting her, so I'm a little concerned that they might've murdered her."  The vendor replied.

"Oh my!  Well I'm trying to find her because she's my sister."  Her brother replied.

"Wait a second, I heard something yesterday, but I thought that it was just a rumor.  I heard that the pharaoh adopted a young lady with golden brown hair and blue eyes."  The vendor said.

"If that was Karania then she's been given a better life than she could ever get with us……."  Her brother replied.

"True, if she was made a princess I'm sure she'll be a fair and kind ruler.  Since being mean doesn't seem to suit her at all.  I've never seen her angry, and I plan to keep it that way."  The vendor said.

"Okay, thank you for your time."  Karania's younger brother said.

"You're welcome."  The vendor replied.

Karania's brother walked away from the vendor and went inside their house.  "Did you learn anything?"  Karania's older brother asked.

"Only the fact that the pharaoh is rumored to have adopted a young girl who seems to be of the description that fits Karania."  Her younger brother told the others.

Everyone just looked at each other, while trying to figure out what to do.  It seemed to them all that getting in touch with Karania was proving to be more difficult than they had originally bargained for.

"Let's leave a note for Karania that tells her to come to the village outside Egypt."  Karania's real father said.

"I suppose we could do that, and if she never gets the message we can assume that she either got killed or was adopted by the pharaoh."  Her older brother said thoughtfully.

Karania's younger brother obtained a piece of paper and wrote a note for Karania and set it on the table in the middle of the room.  Then after they had done that, they left what used to be their house and walked back out of Egypt to their desert home.

~*~

Back in the palace, Karania was in her first princess lesson.  Her first lesson was about how to walk like a princess.  Karania was having a bit of trouble catching on since it was hard for her to readjust to doing something else when she had grown up walking a different way.

"Don't tread, float."  Her teacher said.

Karania tried again, not putting all her weight down on her feet at the same time, this time she succeeded in doing what her teacher had asked her to do.

"That's better, a princess never puts her whole foot down; a princess mostly walks on her toes though not exactly.  Keep in mind how you're supposed to walk, and don't revert back to your original way of walking."  Her teacher said.

Karania nodded and her teacher smiled, "I'm not trying to be hard on you, I'm just trying to teach you what you need to know to be a princess.  The sooner you get the basics down, everything will get easier." 

Now that Karania knew how to walk like a princess, the teacher moved on to teach her how to eat like a princess.  "Elbows in and sit up straight."  Karania's teacher instructed.

Karania tucked her elbows in and sat up straight.  "So far so good.  Now, each piece of silverware is used in the order it's placed in on the table.  Let's say you were eating soup, you would use the more rounded spoon to eat it with.  The other narrow spoon is better suited for eating rice and mashed potatoes, and that sort of thing.  The knife is for cutting your food and your fork can be used for holding your food still so that you can cut it along with enabling you to move food from your plate to your mouth.  Do you understand where I'm going with this lecture?"  Karania's teacher asked after she had given a basic explanation of table etiquette.

Karania looked at the silverware once more before she said, "I think I understand."

"Good, now that concludes our lesson for today.  Oh, and by the way, it's time for dinner now, so you can show your dad what you've learned today.  Make him proud, your highness."  Karania's teacher stated with an air of distinct pride and respect.

Karania and her teacher walked to dinner, and when Karania's dad saw Karania walking like a princess, he couldn't resist smiling.  "Well, you're catching on already.  You've taught her well, Bella."  The pharaoh praised.

"Come Karania, take the seat on my right hand."  Karania walked over to the seat and sat down, and when she did she was now sitting across from Ishizu.

Just then Priest Seto entered, "I'm sorry I'm late, your majesty, the task you gave me took longer than I expected."

The pharaoh waved his hand in a dismissive fashion, "Don't worry about it, the important thing is that you're here now.  Now please take your seat next to Ishizu."

Priest Seto took his seat next to Ishizu and the meal got underway.  While Karania was eating, she kept in mind what Bella, her teacher, had taught her in her lesson.  She was remembering exactly which piece of silverware to use, and was using perfect table etiquette, and when her father saw this he couldn't help but be proud of her.  When the meal finally concluded, the rest of the royal court all stood up and went their separate ways to their chambers to prepare themselves for bed.  Karania stood up when her father did, and was about to head to her own room when her dad said, "Karania, you're doing very well, you're starting to fit in perfectly to your new lifestyle and for that I'm very proud of you.  Now head to your room and prepare yourself for bed, I'll see you again in the morning.  Oh, and your servants should be waiting for you in your room; as a princess you have servants, who will help you perform certain tasks, I'm sure you'll get used to it as more time passes.  Okay, sweetheart?"

"It'll take some getting used to, but I'll become more accustomed to it over time, like you already said I would."  Karania replied.

"Good.  I'll see you again in the morning, I hope you sleep well and have pleasant dreams."  The pharaoh now left the dining room and headed to his chambers and Karania left the room shortly after him and headed back to her room.  When Karania arrived at her room and went inside, she found her servants waiting for her, like her father had said they would be.  Karania's servants quickly obtained Karania's nightgown and helped her change into it.  Then they helped Karania crawl into bed and make herself comfortable.  Once she was comfortable, Karania dismissed her servants, and they bade Karania goodnight, and they turned the light out as they left.  Karania fell asleep shortly after they had left her, and shortly after she had fallen asleep the cat her father had given her when he had adopted her jumped up on her bed and curled up beside her and fell asleep.  Now Karania and her cat, who she had named Quinella, continued to sleep in peace.


End file.
